Sermon Tone Analysis

*1 Corinthians 12:12-14…* For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body is not one member, but many.

*Commentary*

            Paul sets out to explain in vv.

12-31 just how all the different spiritual gifts he listed in vv.

8-10 fit together.

When believers come together with their gifts they form the body of Christ.

The analogy of the human body is Paul’s illustration and parallel to how the church works.

The human body is one piece, but it has many different “members” – a word that refers to arms, legs, eyes, ears, etc.

Though the body parts are many, they come together to form the one body.

“So also is Christ.”

Christ IS the church because the church makes up his body.

And just as the human body is one, so too is Jesus Christ.

He is one, yet he is made up of many, and Paul shows how this is possible through the teaching of the spiritual gifts.

Each Christian has a spiritual gift, and in the same way that the arm benefits the body so too does each believer benefit the body of Christ, that is the church.

One believer is no less or greater than another.

Paul explains what he means in v. 13 as indicated by the explanatory “For.”

Most English translations say that it was “by” one Spirit that all were baptized.

However, John the Baptist, in speaking of Jesus in Matt.

3:11, said “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

So it is Jesus who is the baptizer, and it is WITH the Spirit that he baptizes.

The word “baptize” literally means to be “dipped,” as in water.

The ancient Greek writer Plutarch used the word in reference to being in “over one’s head” in debt (baptized in debt).

Plato uses the word in reference to being “soaked in wine.”

It is used in the Bible as being “washed” both literally and figuratively in an act of ceremonial cleansing.

The sacrament of water baptism in the Christian church today represents one’s inauguration into the body of Jesus Christ.

However, the water baptism the church participates in today, as in first-century Christianity, is nothing more than an outward symbol to the world of one’s being identified with Christ’s death (cf.

Rom.

6:1-10) that took away our sins.

Water baptism is NOT what 1 Cor.

12:13 speaks of.

This passage refers to the spiritual act of baptism that Jesus performs on a convert to Christianity the moment he~/she comes to faith in Christ.

Christ baptizes that person spiritually with the Holy Spirit just like John the Baptist said he would.

The baptism in v. 13 is in a verb tense (aorist) that reflects a past tense, once-and-for-all baptism.

All Christians have been baptized by Jesus Christ with the Spirit into “one body.”

This is the work of God solely, and it is synonymous with salvation.

There is NO second baptism as some believe.

MacArthur says, “Paul’s central point in v. 13 is that baptism with the one Spirit makes the church one Body.

If there were more than one baptism, there would be more than one church, and Paul’s whole point here would be destroyed.

He is using the doctrine of baptism with the Spirit to show the unity of all believers in the Body.”

The latter half of v. 13 says that God shows no favoritism between race and social status.

Jews and non-Jews alike – rich and poor – are “made to drink of one Spirit.”

And v. 14 sums up what he’s has been saying all along, namely that the “body is not one member but many.”

*Food for Thought*

            Contrary to what many teach today, there is no need to seek a second “Spirit” baptism.

The moment a person receives Jesus Christ as Lord~/Savior they are simultaneously baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Water baptism is like a wedding ring – symbolic of our Spirit baptism.

Rejoice today if you possess the Holy Spirit.

You are a full and vital member in the body of Christ.

*1 Corinthians 12:15-17…* If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.

16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?

If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

 

*Commentary*

            Many Christians today go outside the bounds of admiring the gifts of other believers to the point of envying them and coveting their gifts.

This was (and is) sinful, but the first century Corinthians fell into that trap.

In keeping with their carnality they all wanted the more visual and prestigious gifts given by God – gifts such as the ability to speak in languages they’d not previously learned (tongues), gifts of healings, and miracles so that more attention and esteem would come to them.

Paul stays with the human body analogy to show the Corinthians, and all modern-day believers for that matter, how vital each Christian is to the body.

In v. 15 Paul gives the foot a voice and imagines what would happen if the lowly foot got tired of being a foot and wanted to be a hand.

He also imagines the ear coveting the abilities and beauty of the eye.

If either the foot or the ear began to feel unimportant in their role in the human body Paul imagines what that would do to the body.

Notice that the foot (an unattractive and aromatic part of the human body) wants to be a hand (a more attractive and recognizable body part).

Notice also that the ear (something rarely noticed on the body) wants to be an eye (usually very noticeable on the human body and containing great beauty).

This is a parallel to the body of Christ which also has noticeable Christians in relation to those who are hardly ever noticed for their work.

In the same way that that human body would be handicapped without a foot or an ear, so too is the body of Jesus Christ without its more unnoticeable members.

In v. 17 the question is asked as to what would happen if the entire body were an eye.

If the whole body could see, then it would have no ability to hear.

Likewise, if the whole body consisted of an ear, how would it be able to smell those foul-smelling feet?

The answer from the analogy is obvious because the whole idea is preposterous.

As the human body is one, though made up of many different and vital parts – each one having its proper function to bring the whole body together as one working piece, so too is the church – the actual body of Christ.

The pastor typically gets the most attention.

He can be compared to the human eye.

But in the same way that the eye cannot make up the whole body, neither can the pastor by himself.

He needs some ears, legs, etc.

In other words, the pastor, though the most visible part of the local church, cannot make up the body of Christ.

All cannot be pastors, elders, and deacons.

All cannot lead music, and all cannot make coffee.

All cannot lead, and all cannot follow.

The body of Jesus Christ, like the human body, is one.

Yet, it is made up of different parts with each one having their assigned role as given to them in their spiritual gifts.

When each one functions as it is intended to function, the whole thing comes together like a finely tuned and oiled machine.

*Food for Thought*

            If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, where do you fit into His body?

The feet take the gospel out (evangelists), the eyes watch over the church (pastors~/elders), the arms serve the church (those with the gift of helps who serve the sick~/poor), the mouth teaches God’s Word (teachers), the ears hear about the needs of people (encouragement gifts), and the list goes on.

If you’re a believer in Christ you have at least one of these gifts, and if you aren’t using it to glorify God, then you’re missing out on a blessing and also depriving the church of your usefulness.

*1 Corinthians 12:18-24a…* But in the present God has placed each of the members in the body just as he decided.

19 If they were all the same member, where would the body be? 20 So now there are many members, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor in turn can the head say to the foot, “I do not need you.”

22 On the contrary, those members that seem to be weaker are essential, 23 and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less presentable members are clothed with dignity, 24 but our presentable members do not need this.

*Commentary*

            Christians are the members of Christ’s body.

Each one has a God-given purpose in that body to keep the body working properly.

God’s gifts given to believers are essentially ministries that each believer is to be involved with.

A Christian without a ministry is self-defeating statement akin to saying, “Hi, I’m a Christian atheist.”

Each member of Christ’s body has a ministry just as each member of the human body has a function.

In the same way that the human body is handicapped when one limb fails to work, so too does the church when believers fail to use their gift(s).

The whole body suffers, and vv.

18-19 say this very thing.

Notice that it is God who places each Christian in his~/her proper place in the church body – “just as He has decided.”